I received a charcoal Brinkman smoker for Christmas and was wondering if anybody has one.

I am thinking of starting with some jerky. I'll start with beef...because I don't want to ruin any venison. LOL

Any tips for the jerky/smoker would be helpful.

I've never smoked jerkey in it, though I would recomend not filling the water pan as you would be defeating the purpose of drying out the meat. The water pan is to provide moisture while smoking large cuts such as turkey, fish etc. I'll try to get you more info.

I've had a Brinkman electric smoker for years and have loved it. Charcoal is going to be more work to regulate and hold a consistent temp, but will work great.

When doing jerky, the main thing I've learned over the years is try to cut the meat so it's all the same thickness - about 1/4". I cut the meat when it's still half froze which makes it way easier. I also have a jerky board that helps keep the thickness the same - this is essential in cutting meat to the same thickness and is worth every penny. When the meat is not the same thickness, part of the strip of jerky will dry out beyond being able to even eat it. It usually take about an hour or two to smoke up a batch. It's done when the outside no longer looks like a cooking steak, but rather kind of red and dry looking. Don't overcook. It's easy to do. Soak the wood chips for an hour in hot water before throwing em in the cooker. Make sure you put hot if not boiling water in the drip pan to about 1/2" from the top. I've used all sorts of hardwoods but have found my personal taste prefers the hickory chips. Good luck! It's lots of fun and very tasty.

jersey - I've been using my smoker for 8 years or more and have done it both ways. You would think that the water would not allow the meat to dry out properly but it does. In fact, without water in the pan, the meat drys out way too fast before it cooks all the way through so the outside becomes very hard. The smoke does its job very well in drying out the meat. The water will leave the meat a little moist rather than leathery. This is what I've experienced anyway.

Thanks badshot, Like I said I've only used it to smoke fish. I bought an electric one for jerkey and sausage. As you said the electric is more precise in regulating temp. which is very important in making foods other than jerky. I had a recipe book that came with it and can't seem to find it. Thanks once again for the info.

But won't this cause the jerky to go bad sooner? I know it tastes better this way but won't the excess moisture deter from the shelf life. I dry mine out pretty thorough and store in a paper bag on the counter and it will last up to two months and just keeps on drying. I'll have to give my next batch a try your way.

You know what - that's a good point. Not sure. Seems like the cure in the mix would help with that. I've never had it around long enough to find out to be honest - once the stuff comes out of the smoker and cools off, it's almost a fight to get to the stuff. Once I brought 2 pounds of the stuff to Thanksgiving dinner. I put it on the table, turned around, had a conversation with someone, went back to get a piece and it was gone!

I'm curious about the smoking fish - I've never tried that but would like to. Do you use the pre-mix brine or make your own? One thing that I don't like about my electric smoker is it doesn't have a thermostat on it - it does a nice job at keeping the temp constant (220-250 depending on weather), but can't turn it down. In smoking sausages, I have to drill holes in it and use doors to cool it down. I think that's why some meat drys out so fast - it may be too hot. What about fish? What temp is good and how long does it take?

I make my own.

I use trout

To each quart of cold water I add 1/4 cup kosher salt.
Let brine over night
Remove and pat w/towel, place on grates and let air dry 1/2 hour
charcoal pan 1/2 full
water pan 2/3 full
smoke 2-3 hours depending on thicness.
Don't forget to soak the wood chips for at least 1/2 an hour

I have a brinkman electric smoker and I love it. My advice to you is buy
the electric element and just lay 3 or 4 briquettes on the element along with some wet hickory chips. Heats more consistantly than the plain charcoal smoker. I havent tried jerky in mine but ive smoked tons of deer hams and turkeys.